Undermining the federal agencies
An effort is underway to undermine the authority of federal regulatory agencies, some 100 of them. Scholars call these agencies the foundation of the contemporary administrative state. Conspiracy theorists call them “the deep state,”...
Inhabiting the light
My paintings are worked out in the studio, but my information — my inspiration, people like to say — comes from places I go to and look at and take in. The Vineyard has...
Badly behaved bikers, and lax and lazy lawmakers
My neighbor tried to run me off the road in late August. He was in his car, and I was on my bike, and if I hadn’t stopped, he would have crashed into me....
Help save public education with teacher business cards
Friends,
At every back-to-school night I can remember, I made a point of introducing myself to the women and men who taught my three children. It went this way: “I’m John Merrow, (name of child)’s...
The Dover Amendment and the turf battle
In his Sept. 5 decision, Land Court Judge Kevin T. Smith interpreted the so-called Dover Amendment (G.L. c. 40A, § 3) to reject the town of Oak Bluffs’ attempt to protect the sole-source aquifer...
Sacred memories
Baruch atah adonai elohenu melech ha’olam asher kidshanu bemitzvotav vitzivanu lehadlik ner shel (shabbat ve) yom tov.
Blessed art thou, O Lord Our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Thy commandments,...
A planning tool for Tisbury’s future
I’m curious, what was your experience with summer traffic this year? In particular, Tisbury traffic. Worse? Better? About the same?
On one July day, as I drove to an appointment at the speed of a...
Does the Fourteenth Amendment disqualify Donald J. Trump?
In an extraordinary law review article, two highly respected and quite conservative law professors argue that former President Donald J. Trump is ineligible to become the next president of the United States. William Baude...
Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s Confederate plaque exhibit must tell the whole truth
Four and a half years ago, I took to task the Martha's Vineyard NAACP over a matter that goes to the heart of the organization's work.
I insisted it demand the removal of two plaques...
Want to make public schools better for students and teachers? Try ‘Looping.’
All over the U.S., public schools are reopening. You can picture what’s happening in about 85-90 percent of the classrooms: The teachers are spending the first week just getting to know their students, explaining...
What’s in a name?
Martha’s Vineyard is HOT! It’s pure gold for entrepreneurs, Realtors, hospitality providers, and more. While the home real estate market has cooled temporarily, storefronts are in demand, and the key to success is associating...
Caution! Danger ahead!
Miles Taylor, a national security expert and lifelong conservative Republican, who served admirably and skillfully in the Trump administration, visited the Bunch of Grapes in Vineyard Haven last month. I interviewed him about his...
The Supreme Court’s 2022–23 term
Republican attempts to control congressional redistricting through gerrymandering and efforts to overthrow the 2020 presidential election rest on a long-discredited argument: “the independent state legislature theory.” Proponents of the theory argue that state legislators...
The Supreme Court’s 2022–23 term
On June 30, in one of the last cases the Supreme Court decided this past term, the conservative majority again showed its power when six justices prohibited President Joe Biden from eliminating college student...
The Supreme Court’s 2022–23 term
Jack Phillips and Lorie Smith, both of Colorado, have several things in common. They operate creative businesses. They declare that they are very devout Christians. They have had their cases taken to the Supreme...
The Supreme Court’s 2022–23 term
On June 30, the Supreme Court ended its 2022–23 term. Some of its most consequential decisions were announced in June, including banning affirmative action in college admissions, championing religious liberty over public accommodations, and...
Finding love on Martha’s Vineyard
My love story began on this Island. Maybe it was the touch of warm sand on Inkwell Beach or the sweet aroma from the Fourth of July cookout, but the love of this place...
How to help with the immigration crisis
Immigration is in the news: Huge numbers at the border, asylum seekers waiting in inhumane conditions in Mexico, not enough courts to hear asylum claims, migrant deaths, family separations, deportations, the Wall, exploitation of...
Upholding Native American rights
In mid-June, the Supreme Court released one of its most important decisions guaranteeing Native American sovereign rights. The ruling will have a direct impact on the Island’s Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).
The court...
Is speaking at a library really a constitutional right?
I’m writing in response to Jack Fructman’s interesting assessment of a library’s legal obligation to book a speaker (“The Dershowitz flap at the Chilmark Free Public Library,” June 14). He raises more questions than...